Filmmaker, Biodun Stephen has recounted her personal experience with female circumcision, revealing that she underwent the procedure at just six years old.
Speaking on the Diary Of A Naija Girl Podcast, Stephen explained that the procedure was carried out by her grandmother as part of their family’s cultural tradition.
“In my case, it was my grandma, God bless her soul. I don’t want to dwell on it too much. I think my mom also went through it. It was just their culture,” she said.
Stephen described the event in detail, recalling being taken under her grandmother’s supervision to a location outside. Initially, she was allowed to play and eat, which gave her a false sense of security. Later, she was asked to take a shower and lie down, at which point the circumcision was performed. The pain, she said, has lingered in her memory ever since.
“You know, I was six. I didn’t understand what was happening. My grandma just said, ‘let’s go somewhere,’ and I went along. They let me play and eat first, which made me feel comfortable. Then my grandma told me to shower, and the next thing, I was told to lie down,” she recalled.
Stephen noted that no one explained the procedure to her at the time. When she returned home, her mother tried to comfort her but the family never spoke about the incident again.
“The pain was searing. I didn’t understand what had happened. When I got home, my mother tried to soothe me, saying sorry, my baby, but that was it,” she said.
She emphasized that female circumcision was a generational practice in her family, treated as a normal tradition even though children were rarely informed about its purpose.
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